Organizations such as on-line retailers, Internet service providers, search providers, financial institutions, universities, and other computing-intensive organizations often conduct computer operations from large scale computing facilities. Such computing facilities house and accommodate a large amount of server, network, and computer equipment to process, store, and exchange data as needed to carry out an organization's operations. Typically, a computer room of a computing facility includes many server racks. Each server rack, in turn, includes many servers and associated computer equipment.
Computer systems typically include a number of components that generate waste heat. Such components include printed circuit boards, mass storage devices, power supplies, and processors. For example, some computers with multiple processors may generate 250 watts of waste heat. Some known computer systems include a plurality of such larger, multiple-processor computers that are configured into rack-mounted components, and then are subsequently positioned within a rack system. Some known rack systems include 40 such rack-mounted components and such rack systems will therefore generate as much as 10 kilowatts of waste heat. Moreover, some known data centers include a plurality of such rack systems.
Some servers include a number of hard disk drives (for example, eight or more hard disk drives) to provide adequate data storage. Typically, the hard disk drives for servers are of a standard, off-the-shelf type. Standard, off-the-shelf hard disk drives are often a cost effective solution for storage needs because such hard disk drives can be obtained at relatively low cost. Nonetheless, in server designs using such standard hard disk drives, the arrangement of the hard disk drives may leave a substantial amount of wasted space in the server chassis. This wasted space, especially when multiplied over many servers in a rack, may result in inadequate computing or storage capacity for a system.
Hard disk drives include motors and electronic components that generate heat. Some or all of this heat must be removed from the hard disk drives to maintain continuous operation of a server. The amount of heat generated by the hard disk drives within a data room may be substantial, especially if all of the hard disk drives are fully powered up at all times. Heat may be removed from the hard disk drives via an airflow flowing through a server.
In some cases, cooling systems, including air moving systems, may be used to induce an airflow through one or more portions of a data center, including an airflow through a rack that includes various heat producing components. However, some configurations of various equipment in a rack, including various servers and associated equipment, may result in some of the induced airflow through a rack bypassing one or more of the heat producing components in the rack. In some cases, airflows bypassing one or more various heat producing components may result in suboptimal utilization of at least some of the induced airflow to remove heat from heat producing components in the rack, and may represent suboptimal airflow through one or more rack computing systems, including one or more servers. Suboptimal airflow through a server may hinder heat removal from various heat producing components in the server, including hard disk drives, which may negatively affect server operations.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.